1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle apparatus and a method of providing content, and is applicable, for example, to a multimedia terminal having a function of navigation equipment and a function of video playback. The present invention aims at improving usability to a user with respect to an apparatus and the like having a navigation function and a function of video playback, by enabling switching of a display from a display of map to a display of a source also through operation of a source switching operator, alternatively by displaying an upper hierarchical and a lower hierarchical menus simultaneously and accepting operations through a tough-panel as well as through a remote commander, and alternatively by providing a sub-rotary operator which is press-operable on a side surface, in addition to a main rotary operator which is press-operable, in order to cause this sub-rotary operator to accept only a specific operation relating to processing of content among operations to be accepted by the main rotary operator.
2. Background Art
Traditionally, in car navigation equipment that is an in-vehicle apparatus, a technique disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. Hei 10-141974 is applied so that menus are displayed in a hierarchical structure, and selection of the menus is accepted through a touch panel, thereby accepting operations of a user. In the car navigation equipment, it is configured that the selection of the menus in the hierarchical structure is also acceptable by the operation of a remote commander, so that it is able to operate the equipment through the remote commander, while the equipment is mainly operated through the touch panel.
In a monitor unit relating to video, such as a television receiver and the like, it is configured to accept switching of display objects by the operation of operators disposed on a control panel, and also by the operation of the remote commander.
By way of contrast, there has recently been proposed an in-vehicle apparatus having the navigation function and the video playback function as described above. Also in this in-vehicle apparatus, various operations of user are considered to be accepted by the operation of a touch panel and also by the operation of a remote commander.
However, in this in-vehicle apparatus, there is a problem that merely integrating conventional car navigation equipment and a user interface relating to a monitor unit degrades usability of the equipment.
Thus, the operation through the touch panel has an advantage that a desired menu is quickly selectable because a desired menu can be selected with a number of menus being displayed. However, there is a disadvantage that attention for safety is required in an application to an in-vehicle apparatus, because at the time of operation, it is necessary to turn the eyes toward a screen and watch the menus.
On the other hand, in the operation of the remote commander, it is able to operate by blind touch by assigning a dedicated function to each of the operators of the remote commander. Thereby, in an application to a car audio system, the burden of operation can be reduced than the operation through the touch panel. However, when selecting menus in the hierarchical structure, as in the car navigation equipment, it becomes necessary to ultimately operate by tracking a display relating to the operation of the touch panel. In this case, there is a disadvantage that operability deteriorates remarkably than the operation of the touch panel.